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I was wondering how the others felt about reusing plastic (or partially plastic) items aquired from thrift stores and the like. For example, I have been buying used binders from Goodwill to store my annual tax documentation instead of new binders even though there are new nonplastic choices. Since they are already out in the world, it seems better to reuse them as much as possible before consigned them to the landfill. Or am I encouraging more production of them?

I just discovered Beth's site last week and I am inspired. Forgive me if this topic has been covered. I did try a search first.

PS. I love the ReBinder products and will definitley keep in mind if I need a binder for daily use.

Hi Michele. I think it's a great idea to reuse plastic things that already exist in the world as long as we're not storing food in them. For example, when we got our cats and needed cat litter boxes and cat carriers, we found these things used via Craigslist, Freecycle, and thrift stores. When my computer monitor broke, I replaced it with a used one via Craigslist (after unsuccessfully trying to get it fixed.)

So, yeah. Use what we have. But because of chemicals that can leach from plastics, I would not use them for food. And I would beware of PVC, otherwise known as vinyl. It contains plasticizers which can be harmful to health and sometimes contains lead. I would not buy vinyl toys for children ever. In other words, just be conscious of what you're using the plastic for and what little mouths it might end up in.